 |  | 
December 12, 2011 | | INTERVIEW Why does President Obama think you should reelect him? He rattled off his first-term resume on 60 Minutes Sunday, saying in part: “Not only saving this country from a Great Depression. Not only saving the auto industry. But putting in place a system in which we're gonna start lowering health care costs and you're never gonna go bankrupt because you get sick or somebody in your family gets sick.” The Daily Beast’s Peter Beinart on the holes in Obama’s narrative—he hasn’t explained exactly how Republicans created the financial mess—and why he’s sure to lose if he doesn’t get it right. Terrorism Remember in June when 60 Al Qaeda prisoners escaped from a prison in Yemen? Well, its happened again: Between 10 and 15 militants escaped from prison early Monday in the city of Aden. According to the Associated Press, they tunneled their way out. The tunnel was 130-feet long and dumped the prisoners at a petrol station outside the prison walls. In 2003, 11 Al Qaeda militants convicted for the U.S.S. Cole bombing escaped from the same prison. Wartime Only one detainee remains in U.S. custody in Iraq. What should be done with him when American troops leave the country on December 31? The U.S. is debating trying to bring him with them, rather than handing him over to Iraqi custody like the rest of Iraqi detainees. Republicans are arguing to send him to Guantanamo Bay, but a military tribunal—perhaps at the naval base in Charleston, South Carolina—seems more likely. Such a course of action would require the approval of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. Who Knew? They’re not just for distant wars and border patrols: In June, police in North Dakota recorded the first arrests in the country made with the assistance of a Predator drone, after the aircraft helped them to locate suspects in the wilderness. Since then, local police in North Dakota have called in drone assistance from the Grand Forks Air Force Base at least two dozen more times. The FBI and DEA also use the unmanned aircraft in investigations, according to the Los Angeles Times. The drones belong to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which typically uses them to patrol the country’s borders. Crime The Brooklyn DA has arrested 85 suspected child molesters over the past three years in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, according to the New York Post. The arrests came as the result of a special program called Kol Tzedek, which encourages victims to come forward from the insular communities. Of the 38 cases tried so far, 14 have resulted in jail time. The latest led to the arrest of a 27-year-old man, Andrew Goodman, who is accused of abusing two young boys, throwing parties with liquor and child porn, and threatening to kill a boy who reported him. | | 
GET The Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of news and must-reads from across the Web. You'll love the featured original stories on politics, entertainment, and more from The Daily Beast's diverse group of contributors.  GET The Yes List Weekly cultural recommendations from The Daily Beast.
| |
No comments:
Post a Comment